A brief on Innovation Platforms in the Nile Basin Development

Challenge (NBDC)

Beth Cullen, Zelalem Lema, Aberra Adie, Mulugeta Lemenih

Training of Trainers workshop on the use of the Livelihoods Characterization/Benchmarking Tool (SLATE), Jeldu,

Ethiopia, 1-5 April 2013

One component of the NBDC project has been focusing on establishing multi-stakeholder ‘innovation platforms’ to develop integrated rainwater management strategies which address some of these issues

1.Jeldu Woreda 2.Diga Woreda 3.Fogera Woreda

Participants include: Government line departments (Admin, Agriculture, Natural Resource, Water, Women, Cooperatives, Land Use, Livestock), Agricultural Research Centers, Ethio-Wetlands and Natural Resources Association (NGO), community representatives

How do we address these issues?

Overview of NBDC project...

Nile Basin Development Challenge aims to improve the resilience of rural livelihoods in the Ethiopian highlands through a landscape approach to rainwater management.

Base-line research conducted in three NBDC sites at the start of the project identified the following NRM issues:

- Focus on isolated technical interventions- Lack of cross-sector collaboration and coordination- Weaknesses in technical design- Poor follow up and monitoring- Lack of relevance to local priorities- Lack of voluntary collective action

Why Innovation Platforms?

Or...

First steps...

Joint identification of common NRM issue to ensure collective action

This takes time!

NRMIssue?

Platform meetings...

Community engagement

Issue Identification

Fogera

Actors Main issue Related issue

IP members

Unrestricted grazing

Land degradation

Community

Restricted grazing

Shortage of grazing/fodder

Water scarcity

Shortage of water

Soil conservatio

n

Organization of campaign

work

Fodder development was chosen as a priority issue for pilot interventions due to the

common concerns around the issue of grazing

IP fodder interventions to complement SLM campaign

• 80,000 ETB was allocated to the platform to fund action research activities

• Proposals and action plans were developed by IP members according to defined criteria

• Actions should be cross-sectoral, participatory, designed to address RWM issues and targeted to suitable area

• A sites was selected within the designated NBDC watershed

• Action to take place at household level, farmland and communal land

Innovation Fund

12

Pilot interventions to date

- Activities started in faced difficulties due to lack of community engagement

- Pilot interventions were moved to Limbichosh village which has so far

proved more successful

- Few households are involved with the current activities which include

enclosure and improvement of communal grazing area and backyard

fodder development

- A field day was organized in the three woredas to review the activities

and share knowledge with other farmers

Technical Group Members in IP

1. Woreda livestock agency 2. Woreda natural resource3. Research Centre 4. University 5. NGO (Local Facilitators)

•Active participation in IP meetings, •Design and assist the action research on fodder intervention•Providing trainings • Facilitating and coordinating the linkges

13

Stakeholder Capacity Building

A lot of talk about ‘participatory planning’ but difficult to put it into action.

WAT-A-GAME- Participatory planning for NRM(www.watagame.info)

http://nilebdc.org